The Battle for Alexandra Parade

The proposed East West road tunnel is not the first time the inner northern communities of Melbourne have faced the onslaught of massive road developments.

In 1970s and 1990s, the Eastern Freeway extension, then known as F19, was the catalyst for long running protests and barricades as local communities fought against the Victorian State Government to stop their suburbs being torn apart. Read on for archival photographs, interviews and social histories.

The confluence of the Yarra River and the Merri Creek is one of the most culturally significant sites for the Wurundjeri. We acknowledge the Wurundjeri people as the Traditional Owners of the country within these inner suburbs of Melbourne.

9 thoughts on “The Battle for Alexandra Parade”

A couple of incidents stand out as amusing (if any part of this could possibly be called amusing)

1. The police spokesmen on the news condemned the ‘rubbish’ ‘health hazard’ of the barricade we had erected. Meanwhile, outside of their caravan were piles and piles of used tea-bags and boxes of kentucky fried chicken

2. The first car to come down the new freeway (with a police escort) was a Mercedes. Driven by Bob Jane.

We should also remember the battle in the early 1990s to stop the widening of Alexandra Pde. The Coalition Against Freeway Extensions (CAFE) fought this “upgrade” knowing that the resulting increased traffic volumes would inevitably bring us to the current situation. Many 1977 protesters were involved in the 1994 campaign.

These pages have been updated to now include Citizens Against the Freeway Action (CAF) and Coalition Against Freeway Extensions (CAFE) history, so please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any additional photos or stories.